Chris Rock was inspired to remake Der Himmel soll warten (1978) after he heard that Muhammad Ali originally pursued to star in that movie. Rock then thought that Richard Pryor would have been great in the role and changed the main character into an African-American comedian.
This movie was a remake of Heaven Can Wait (1978), which was a remake of Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941).
Chris Rock stated on Total Request Live (1998) that if this movie grossed over $25 million during its opening weekend he would return to host that year's MTV Video Music Awards. This movie ultimately fell short, grossing $20 million over the four day President's Day weekend. Jamie Foxx hosted that year's Video Music Awards though Rock returned to host in 2003.